48 FOOD OF FISHES. 



off the white pahner, and set to a red palmer, made of 

 a large hook; I had good sport until it grew very light : 

 then I took off the red palmer, and set to a black pal- 

 mer ; I had good sport, and made up the dish of iish. 

 So I put up my tackles, and was v^^ith my lord at his 

 time appointed for the service. These three flies, with- 

 out the help of the lob-w^orms, serve to angle all the 

 year for the night ; observing the times— as I have 

 shewed you— in this night- work; the white fly for 

 darkness, the red fly in medio, and the black fly for 

 lightness. This is the true experience for angling in 

 the night, which is the surest angling of all, and 

 killeth the greatest trouts." 



Barker, it may be remarked, acted throughout on the 

 principle of contrasting the colours of his flies with that 

 of the water, and never once dreamt of ascertaining 

 whether there were white or red palmers on the water, 

 any more than whether there were lob-worms swim- 

 ming in it when he commenced. 



It tends strongly to corroborate our principle, that 

 Bainbridge, who is the best authority on the species of 

 flies, expressly says, respecting a gaudy artificial fly 

 for salmon, that, " however fanciful or varied in shade 

 or materials, it will frequently raise fish when all the 

 imitations of nature have proved unsuccessful ; indeed 

 so fastidious and whimsical are the salmon at times, 

 that the more briUiant and extravagant the fly, the 

 more certain is the angler of diversion." Sir H. Davy 

 again says, " I imagine salmon take the gaudy fly, with 

 its blue kingfisher and golden pheasant's feathers, for 

 a small fish. I never saw a dragon-fly drop on the 



